Bike Tour in the USA (2007), Part 39

Saturday, Sep. 22, 2007

Rainy Morning

?→Half Moon Bay State Beach 

Distance: 83.08 km, Time: 5:46:12 hrs, Total: 1,237.38 km

         
      Actually I wanted to leave my small tent to greet the early morning cheerfully. But as I zipped open the door or entrance of my tent I saw a thick fog covering the surroundings and the strong wind still blew from the ocean. I wanted to crawl back into my sleeping bag but finally had to go out into the beastly weather...

   Of course the rain and fog made everything wet except the contents of my waterproof cycling bags. Personally I don’t quite understand that people insist on "natural materials" on their bike travel equipment. Many saddles or bags are sold prominently under British and American trademarks but in truly harsh conditions nothing beats man-made materials without zippers and bottoms, they are the only real waterproof materials.

   On the internet there are permanently discussions of real leather material on saddles or bags of waxed cotton duck with real leather applications but after several rain showers and real life usage these discussions seem meaningless to real bike tourists.

-  I bought a British original real leather saddle, an obviously popular no. B-17 model for bike touring. In the beginning it was comfortable but after some unexpected rain showers during my tour around Taiwan even with with extra proofing and a rain cover the leather broke on the rivets.

-  I used a bike bag made of natural waxed cotton duck which did not only develop mold in the high humidity in Taiwan but it was not waterproof even with an additional coat of wax.

   So, when equipment is useless in harsh conditions why take them into considerations at all? To be en vogue? Thanks, but I would like to pass...

   Out of one of my saddle bags I took my yellow one way rain jacked and continued to fight through the fog, rain and wind. To lighten my load a little I’ve decided to leave Highway 1 and followed the Pescadero Creek Road until I came to the farming community of Pescadero. There are only a few buildings beside the main street and between them is the Pescadero Country Store, http://pescaderocountrystore.com/. I did not want to fiddle with the rain jacket and walked wet and miserable as I was into the store and bought something to eat and to drink.

   As I was standing at the cash register with my goods in the hands the elderly checkout 'girl' looked at me and encouraged me with a smile: “Not a good day for a bike ride, right?” Considering my appearance I had to smile back to this early sunshine in the morning. After she told me that i did not rain for months and how much a farm community needs this rain I did not feel so miserable any more. Or, as the saying goes “One man’s joy is another man’s sorrow.” I wished her well and hoped that it might continue to rain for them. Of course, hopefully after I left...

   Researching for this blog I came over the sad news that the colorful store, which some called the heart and soul of the town, caught a devastating fire on Sep. 18, 2016 (http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/09/18/pescadero-country-store-total-loss-sunday-morning-fire/). It's a pity but the owner wants to fight to rebuild it and continue to serve the community and customers in the future. 

Pescadero Country Store

   As I already left the coast I continued to ride in the land along Stage Road. It was a true lonely back road, built to ease off the farmers work. There were no shoulders beside the road, but some steep roads to climb and thick forests to cross. Road signs were sparsely and most of the time non-existent. I followed a line of tall trees which lead to a big farm but generally it was an empty road. There were only sparsely cars and all of them were pick-up trucks with female drivers.  

  Finally I came to the cross of the Stage Road and Highway 84 San Gregorio. There on the crossroad is the San Gregorio General Store, apparently the center of this small town. On this early morning the store front was lined with pickups parking in front of this Mexican building.

San Gregorio General Store, http://www.sangregoriostore.com/

     On the right side of the road I discovered the guidepost to the Highway 1. On Highway 84 I followed the road until I came back to the familiar Highway 1. The road was smooth and the surrounding was rough and surprisingly flat. No wonder that many cyclists from the San Francisco area ride here during the weekends. 

   Coming from the south the exit to the State Beach was first from Highway 1 on the left even before the city of Half Moon Bay even started.

(to be continued) 

Bike Tour in the USA (2007), Part 18

Saturday, Sep. 15, 2007

A Step Back into History

Vandenberg AFB → Oceano Dunes

Distance: 150.6km, Total: 475.82 km

After I woke up i discovered myself wrapped in a very thick fog! The clothes I did not pack properly and my sleeping bag got very damp during the night so I’v decided to pack all (!) of my clothes and even the shoes into the waterproof bags starting from today! As mentioned before this fog by itself is vital to hot areas like California which 'seems never to rain' ... So, nothing to be angry about but respectful to the great blessings of mother nature.

Thick Fog from the nearby Ocean

As I cycled along San Antonio Creek Road the fog cleared noticeable. Later I went onto  the Cabrillo Highway 135 into the direction Los Alamos and the sun pushed the rest of the fog aside. After the weather cleared I noticed that I was obviously riding in a desert, sand as far as the eyes could see. Now and then I could see some artificial well trimmed green islands in the distance which turned out to be vineyards taking advantage of the morning fog and the hot sun during the day. Some vine was planted directly beside the road and I took some pictures. I could not hold myself to pick up and to try some grapes – delicious. Striking was that in the beginning of each line of grapevine there was one rose tree planted; I could not find out the reason for it.

Roses planted before the row of Grapevine

Directly beside the entrance into the 1300 citizen community of Los Alamos I passed a signpost with the inscription “Welcome to Los Alamos, the valley of the Cottonwoods, founded in 1876”. As soon as I rode into the town on main street I felt myself taken back 100s of years ago. Nearly every house was made out of wood with an distinctive antique aura of the 'Wild West', between them some grass. An abandoned gas station indicated the difficulties to be commercially successful in this remote area. But nor far away from it I noticed a guesthouse right out of the 1800s in which some renovation work was going on inside.

Welcome to Los Alamos

   On this still early day I saw two young men sitting in a park playing with a small child. This picture let me believe that it is difficult in this area to find a job...

   From the main street I just turned right to look a little behind the historical front. There was nothing except the Viking Custom Upholstery working on the bench of a Ford of the 1920s? The car looked great but in my opinion a car should be painted in a color of its period of production. Living in the 21st century I watched many car restoration shows. But as a German I feel a kind of pain seeing historical car treasures with 'matching numbers' torn apart and 'restored' with modern engines, disc brakes and modern paint; some custom builders even incorporate changes into the built. Once the matching numbers are torn apart, the car is, in my opinion, no more historical and can never be returned to its original…

Viking Custom Upholstery

   On the way out of of town I discovered the Los Alamos Market housed in a historical wooden building from 1876. I went in and bought something to drink and food; all the employees looked clearly Asian to me…

Los Alamos Market

(to be continued)

Bike Tour in the USA (2007), Part 11

Tuesday, Sep. 12. 2007

I heard a Mission Bell...

Ventura→Carpinteria

Distance: 46.6 km, Duration: 3:19:08 hrs, Total: 332.25 km

  After I peeled myself out of the sleeping bag in the early very quiet morning I cycled back to the center of Ventura. How early? So early that I did not even see one soul during this approx. 3 km mostly downhill ride. 

Early Morning in San Buenaventura

 A thick fog wrapped the whole village while the mountains already reflected the sunlight. I suppose the important moisture for the very dry land came from the nearby ocean. 
On the main road I turned left and stumbled upon the statue of Father Junipero Serra, who, as the reader can guess, founded the Mission of Ventura. As I turned around to cycle back to the main road when I discovered the German flag upside down, the stripes not black-red-gold but rather gold-red-black. The led me directly to the Mission, not far away from it I got off my bike.

San Buenaventura Main Road

The Mission of Buenaventura was the last of the nine missions founded by the Father himself out of a total of 21 religious outposts throughout California. On Easter morning of Mar. 31, 1782 he raised the Cross at "la playa de la canal de Santa Barbara (the beach of the Santa Barbara Channel). Assisted by Padre Pedro Benito Cambon he celebrated a High Mass, preached on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and dedicated the Mission to San Buenaventura. The Mission's first church building was destroyed by fire, the construction of a second church was abandoned because "the door gave way." In 1792 work was in progress on the present church and the small utility buildings (with the church) formed a quadrangle enclosing a plaza. Although half finished in 1795 the church was not completed until 1809. Dedication was held on September 9 and the first liturgical services took place in September 10 the same year (www.sanbuenaventuramission.org/history).

I walked around and let the mystic fog and the white buildings of the Mission settle in. The door to the main building was closed which was to be expected considering the early hour. Some Mexicans were busy cleaning up the park and the streets in front of the Mission and prepare it for the day. Under a huge foggy tree I discovered a sleepy young man who put his hoodie over the head and went on a park bench to continue his sleep.

Even with the fog I succeeded to take a picture right in front of the main gate of the Mission. I've tried to frame it with white roses planted on a street leading to it. On the right side there is a mural illustrating foreigners (Chinese, Mexicans) standing in front of this Mission.

Mission of San Buenaventura (or Ventura)

 I cycled along Brooks Avenue which led me to Harbor Boulevard. Passing the free space of the Country Fair Grounds I arrived at the Ventura Pier. The parking lot was already packed with cars of the surfers even the wind and the ocean itself was very cold at that time. As I watched the sea a Finn who walked his dog stopped and started talking to me. He told me that he came the first time here ten years ago and decided to stay. He became American citizen and told me that he does not want to "leave anymore". In this environment his decision is very understandable...

Rules for Surfing

It got too cold for me so I decided warm up myself. I parked my bike in front of an American fast food restaurant and got a good breakfast with a large cup of hot coffee. Only than I realized that I did not have coffee after I left Hollywood two days ago.

Back on the road I cycled accidentally past the Ventura Bike Depot, maybe I could ask here for the bike chain. Because of the early hour I stood in front of a closed door. Beside it I could discover an important note "The shop is only opened on weekends!" As today was Tuesday I had to look for a chain replacement somewhere else.

(to be continued)